Book Description
"This is a very fine volume; it is inclusive, superbly researched, and the introductions are clearly written. . . . It should become a standard text of surrealism." --Stephen Eric Bronner, Professor of Political Science and Comparative Literature, Rutgers University Beginning in Paris in the 1920s, women poets, essayists, painters, and artists in other media have actively collaborated in defining and refining surrealism's basic project-achieving a higher, open, and dynamic consciousness, from which no aspect of the real or the imaginary is rejected. Indeed, few artistic or social movements can boast as many women forebears, founders, and participants-perhaps only feminism itself. Yet outside the movement, women's contributions to surrealism have been largely ignored or simply unknown. This anthology, the first of its kind in any language, displays the range and significance of women's contributions to surrealism. Letting surrealist women speak for themselves, Penelope Rosemont has assembled nearly three hundred texts by ninety-six women from twenty-eight countries. She opens the book with a succinct summary of surrealism's basic aims and principles, followed by a discussion of the place of gender in the movement's origins. She then organizes the book into historical periods ranging from the 1920s to the present, with introductions that describe trends in the movement during each period. Rosemont also prefaces each surrealist's work with a brief biographical statement.
Customer Reviews:
Great Reading.......2005-08-27
Using this book for a Critical Theories class - great reading. Very clear and thought provoking. Complicated at times, but definitely a must have for English Majors!
New dimensions to the plastic arts also to the literary arts.......1999-02-27
Surrealist Women is a delightful read. I felt like I was on an adventure at a scrumptious banquet inside an amusement fun park where adults were not allowed. The book is chock filled with the most unlikely, amazing, thought provoking exoticisms. Incredible, really. It's a book I'll pick up often just to rediscover a surprise. To catch a poem in a new way. Or to remember a technique. A couple of surrealist techniques that I've tried, and a few that I've invented, have delivered such astounding results that I continue to work with them regularly.
The new dimensions that surrealism brings to the plastic arts it also brings to the literary arts, to the written word. The poetry of the surrealists is collages created from words, works of poetry art. Poetry takes on a new depth, breaking free from constraints of structure, it also breaks into new presentations of language formation, presenting Zen like non-logical word images that touch the soul with deep meaning, "perfume similar to the sound of a violin dipped in holy oil." Created from the depth of the subconscious (or is it superconscious?) mind, this is poetry that transcends gravity, time and space limitations, giving us prophetic poetry. Poetry revealing not only what will be, but what was, is and could have been.
It's hard to have favorites in this compilation, and I know that the ones that stand out for me today could change tomorrow. I found Nancy Cunard's essays on racism remarkable, especially considering the time (the 1930's) and the person (a white woman from a privileged background). Suzanne Césaire's work on Breton as poet is itself a marvel and her following piece on the collective mistake of the Martiniquan deserves special mention. Ithell Colquhoun in The Mantic Stain, Surrealism and Automatism describes for us these techniques: decalomania, fumage, parsemage and écrémage. Annie Le Brun reminds us that "in matters of revolt, we need no ancestors". Le Brun also is more interested in Oscar Wilde "than any bourgeoisie woman who agreed to marry and have children, and then, one fine day, suddenly feels that her oh so hypothetical creativity is being frustrated." Jayne Cortez has a wonderful hip-hop sounding piece "Make Ifa Make Ifa make Ifa Ifa Ifa, in eye popping punta of my heat sucking sap". Haifa Zangana smashes the work ethic in Can We Disturb These Living Coffins? Eva vankmajerová's artwork is thrilling. I would have preferred seeing her Over All on the book's cover, but such an act would take a brave publisher indeed. Penelope Rosemont explores the life-affirming erotic, generous moral of the tale of The Golden Goose, showing how it's really a surrealist morality tale. Rosemont also explores "the very chanceology of chance" in Revolution By Chance. I noted hundreds of other examples, but instead of going on and on here, I'll just at this point highly recommend the book.
Exploring the Marvelous is not something we're taught to do. These are the things that church, state and the typical family unit tries to rid within us. Some were incarcerated inside mental jails for exploring the domain of the Marvelous. The over-rationalized beings in our society hate and fear the Marvelous and its practitioners because, not belonging to the rational realm, the Marvelous can't be explained. Or conquered. Surrealism calls for play and for uniting with the Marvelous -not to negate the rational but to make us whole by expanding our awareness. Surrealism also calls for a rejection of social norms, normalcy, conformism and anything that means dormancy. (Lock such dangerous criminals up!) It seeks to help you find your way to be a playful member of society and to "find your own voice". It demands absolute freedom for all. But why do oppressors oppress? Seemingly for this purpose alone, to have instead of to be (gathering commodities as opposed to living life). By moving more into having instead of into being, oppressors lose contact with the Marvelous.
Surrealism makes a point of keeping its door wide open to everyone, but with a special welcome mat to the outsider. It's open not only to men and to women alike, but to children and those outsiders that society labels uneducated, mentally retarded, insane. Surrealism is a celebration of all that is true of the feminine side of humanity, independent of one's gender: surrender, abandon, night, dreams, imagination, poetry, acceptance of and appreciation for the unfathomable abysses of mystery.
If modern industrialized civilization could pass laws against the night, it would. Through groan-ups, work, schooling and church, it settles instead to crush the things of the night as best it can: imagination, poetry and dreams. What civilization considers the darkest corners, it seeks to abolish through vice laws and moral lecturing: prostitution and other forms of uninhibited sex, disreputable behavior, gambling, drinking, drugs. Control the dark corners of humankind, the next best thing to abolishing night itself. Like stranger danger, civilization teaches us to fear the night. It doesn't want us to revel in what the abyss of night can bring us - the Marvelous. Surrealism says that we have too much of reason and rationality and too little of imagination and non-rationality. I'm in agreement. The night dreams deliver more daylight than simple day itself. A good dose of reason (theory and polemics) coupled with a co-equally good dose of imagination (poetry and art) is the surrealist revolution. Surrealist Women is a grand accomplishment in this - giving us a healthy dose of both. Each featured author contributes to this revolution, and leaves a strong foundation of surrealist legacy for future generations to build upon.
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Le Portrait Facile
Burne Hogarth
Manufacturer: Taschen
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 3822881147 |
Book Description
In his thirty years with the National Park Service, Jim Burnett has seen it all: boat ramp mishaps that have sent cars into the water; skunks in the outhouse and bears at the dumpster; visitors looking for the bridge over the Grand Canyon.
Customer Reviews:
Heartwarming but..........2007-09-08
I've got to say that this book definitely made me care about the narrator and feel for the amazing amount of sacrifice and difficult situations that he and his family endured in service of our National Parks. And it's very hard to knock that ever, especially from someone who seems so genuinely likeable and friendly. However... this is not the greatest book. The combination of acronyms and Shakespeare quotes seems quirky and interesting at first, but quickly gets old. The "people are idiots" theme gets somewhat overplayed. Many of these stories and humorous anecdotes are the tough-day-at-work/funny quote type of thing I would put in an e-mail to family or laugh about with friends, not the kind of thing that I would record for posterity.
The last chapter of the book, among other things, earnestly advises you not to get high and jump off a cliff. If you are the kind of person who would responsibly read a book of back-country safety tips and stories, you are probably not also the person who would take some hits of acid and decide to roll off a cliff. Or you are. But that's on you and no books will help you at that point.
I like the author and his family. I feel for his struggles and sacrifice and find the humor in some of his stories. But I can't call this a great book.
A fun, light-hearted book.......2007-09-04
This is a great book that is fun to read, each chapter can stand alone, so you can pick it up at your leisure. A great book to take on vacation.
It tells humorous stories of misadventures in our National Parks written in a way that you feel Mr. Burnett is talking to you. It gave me a good laugh and some good advice for visiting these or any parks.
(Snake in the cold water is my favorite story!)
Milk Toast.......2007-07-09
Hey Ranger ! Is lightly entertaining & minimally informative. It is well written but the acronyms the writer makes up are corny & get old quick. It's just not that interesting !I read these type books on a regular basis & must say that it is below average & definately not on my Re Read list. I keep most of my books but this one will be gone when I'm finished. Try Jim Reardens "Alaskas Wolf Man", Pete From's book "Indian Creek Cronicles",Larry Kanuit's books or Dick Proenneke's story.
Not a bad read.......2007-07-03
The acronyms are really annoying--don't pay attention to them. At times the author used so much detail that the stories became rather boring. However, there are a few humorous stories in the book. And, I did enjoy the way he introduced his stories with "Hey Ranger, how about you ___". Good info on park history. A worthwhile read in spite of skimming though sections.
Hilarious, but educational.......2007-07-01
I don't usually buy humorous books, but this one was given to me as a Christmas present by my wife. When I finally got around to reading it, I almost died laughing and found this book most enjoyable.
Part of the success of of this book is due to the author's "down home" style of storytelling. These stories are not meant to make fun of people, but to show how easily an unprepared park visitor can quickly get into deep trouble.
Hey Ranger! will not only give you a good laugh, but make you a better camper and park visitor in the future. You will also gain some insight into how park rangers and their families live.
Buy the book, enjoy it, then pass it on to a friend. I highly recommend it!
Customer Reviews:
:Glossary for Movie fans.......2007-05-13
If you're a movie fan, I mean a REAL movie fan who knows films by genre including the classics, this book's a winner. Over his years reviewing films,Ebert has collected his personal favorites of "movie cliches, stereotypes, obligatory scenes, hackneyed formulas, shopworn conventions and outdated archetypes." Ebert has also encouraged viewers to send him their favorite cliches in movies, so his latest movie glossary is his "BIGGER Little Movie Glossary." It's the kind of book you can leave next to your bed or favorite chair, and dip into for a few minutes to get some quick laughs. As you read, you find your head moving up and down in agreement and thinking, "Yeah, I know that! I remember that scene in such-and-such movie." Typical listing (and they each have a funny title)--"Fruit Cart!" defined as "any chase scene involving a foreign or ethnic locale...and the "certainty a fruit cart will be overturned during the change, and an angry peddler will run into the middle of the street to shake his first at the hero's departing vehicle." This book would make a great gift for friends who think they know it all when it comes to movies. It's hard to find, though, so I ordered it through Amazon.
Saying this book is full of Cliches is a good thing.......2006-05-07
Folks have been flocking to the Fleas and Itches to view the Flickers for a century, and everyone, if they have been to enough of them, begins to notice certain things:
How this or that action, or personality trait, occurs over and over again, and how certain rules of behavior always are attributed to a certain type person, event, or whatever.
There are also many rules regarding the act of watching a film, and the places that show them.
Well, way back in the early 80's film critic Roger Ebert started writing about them, and giving them names in his newspaper column.
This was so popular that it was included in his Movie Home Companions every year. Finally the idea was put into book form.
The readership of ordinary filmgoers eagerly contributed their own examples, and the rest is history.
I own a 2nd edition of the book ( 1st ed. 1994).
Just to whet your appetite for this wonderful little book here are several brief examples of the formulas:
Have you ever noticed that.....
All movie bartenders, when first seen, are wiping the inside of a glass with a rag.
99% of sex scenes show couples coupling for the first time.
People in movies ALWAYS undress from the top down.
AND
Any theatre that accepts passes will invariably exclude their use for any movie worth seeing.
This book makes for a fun addition to anyones book collection.
You have to reeeeaaally like the movies.......2006-03-17
Well, not really a plot here, but this book is a collection of creative movie definitions concerning common clich?s and plot lines. Organized alphabetically based on contributions both from Roger Ebert and from others who sent him their own definitions, and containing seemingly random weird not that helpful illustrations interspersed throughout, at a little over one hundred pages there is room for quite a few definitions.
Quote: "You go to enough different movies, you start to notice things. Like how every time there's a chase scene in an exotic locale, a fruit cart gets overturned . . . or how there are lots that would be over in five minutes, if all the characters weren't idiots."
I like movies, movie reviews, and things of this nature, but maybe not quite enough to be completely entertained by this book. If you really REALLY like movies, probably good times will be had. My only recommendation otherwise would have been to have more specific movie examples so that one could see it in action if they chose, but I enjoyed how Ebert combined the definitions he wrote with ones that others had sent him.
A must-have for cinema buffs.......2004-03-03
It's not a glossary so much as a joke book ... a compilation of both Mr. Ebert's own list of cinematic cliches and those submitted by his readership. It's a great browser's book, something you can just open up to any page and start reading. I've taken to leaving my copy by the couch, so I can flip through it during commercials and see how many points the film's racked up since the last commercial.
The only real problem with the book is the inherent flaw in having a book that features submissions ... quality is uneven, and a few cliches appear multiple times submitted by different people. This is balanced out by some very clever observations, patterns that I hadn't noticed before and which informed by later movie watching.
It's not quite as good as "I Hated, Hated, Hated, HATED This Movie," but it's still a seriously funny book for anyone who's fed up with seeing the same movie made over and over again with different titles.
Contains More Fun Than Any Fruit Cart.......2003-08-28
Ebert's "bigger little book" of movie cliches, stereotypes, obligatory scenes, etc. exposes the vast majority of movie directors/producers/studios as what they truly are: Dumb. But hey, learning just HOW dumb they can be has never been so much fun. You'll find yourself reading the book from cover to cover, nodding your head, saying, "I just saw that in a movie last week! Man, that was stupid." Ebert also gives credit to fans who have written in with their own entries. Loads of fun!
228 pages
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Fanfare and Other Courtly Scenes in Baroque Style
Manufacturer: Alfred Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 087487632X |
Book Description
The King's Indian has always been one of the sharpest, most complex, and popular openings that Black can play; it still provides the setting for many encounters at the elite level of Grandmaster chess. In this book, Grandmaster and King's Indian expert Joe Gallagher provides a Black repertoire in the King's Indian Defence against all of White's possible options.
Customer Reviews:
Everything i wanted from it!.......2007-09-24
I really enjoyed this book. I have over a dozen books on the KID but this one tops them all. Joe is informative to such an extent. All chess books should be written like this. Massive amounts of data!!!!!!
Well set out, effective variations, excellent explanations........2007-03-31
Gallagher has written a really good book. The lines he offers are quite good and he explains a lot of what is going on, the book is not all about lists of moves.
A Great Book from an author that actually plays the opening he recommends.......2007-02-10
I simply loved this book. I think the author's enthusiasm and love for the opening comes through loud and clear. A must for the true KING'S INDIAN fanatic.
play the kings indian.......2006-06-08
I am writing this review fresh after slaughtering a cheeky 1.d4 player who attempted the Petrosian system against my WELL INFORMED Kings Indian. Indeed, I can still taste the victory; after sacrificing 2 pawns I gained a devastating initiative on the kingside. Here is a quote from the book (Main Line): "White will attempt to tear Black from limb to limb on the queenside while Black will endeavour to hang, draw, and quarter White on the kingside. Sometimes both sides succeed in their aim and then Black wins. That is the advantage of attacking the King". I just want to add to other reviewers by giving my thoughts on this book as compared to Gallaghers other fantastic book: "Starting Out: the Kings Indian". I was completely new to the Kings Indian prior to buying SOKID and it helped with some of the basic themes but, after buying PTKID shortly thereafter, I will not be going back to that other book. PTKID is just so much richer in ideas etc. So if you really are just starting out in the KID, but are somewhat strapped for cash, I would recommend you to get PTKID first, so long as you are not a beginning chess player. (Again, SOKID is a fantastic book. It explains the typical themes w/ diagrams, etc. very well). Happy hunting!
------- USCF 1420
All opening books should be this good..........2006-02-05
This book furnishes a repertoire for Black in the King's Indian Defense (KID). There are twelve chapters, the first six devoted to the Classical Variation (including the currently fashionable Bayonet Attack). Then follow the Saemisch, Fianchetto, Four Pawn Attack, systems with early h2-h3, Averbakh, and miscellaneous systems. Each chapter contains an introduction, and the coverage is built around complete, illustrative games. I think this is a good way to treat opening theory, so that the reader gets a sense of the typical middlegames and endgames that arise from the opening.
I have really come to admire Gallagher's writing. His annotations are full of explanatory prose, deep and valuable insights, growing out of his long career as a KID player. There is much original analysis. I also enjoyed his humor and his obvious contempt for wimpy chess. The games and the associated variations are well selected, covering critical lines, mostly from recent high-level competition. I like his repertoire recommendations, which usually offer the most critical and aggressive way to meet a particular line, e.g., 6...c5 gambit against the Saemisch, 6...Na6 against the Averbakh. (However, he does not generally lay out alternative approaches - which some readers may prefer.) The author obviously poured a lot of hard work into this book.
This book is suitable for intermediate and advanced players. A good companion volume would be Gallagher's marvellous "Beating the Anti-King's Indians," which treats the Exchange Variation, Trompowsky, London System, Veresov and other ways White can evade the main lines. Newbies might instead turn to the excellent "Starting Out: The King's Indian" by the same author and publisher.
The book is set in two-column style, with excellent diagrams and pleasant fonts. The back of the book has an index of variations and an index of games. I didn't notice any typos or diagram errors.
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Classic Aircraft - A Century of Powered Flight
Brian Johnson
Manufacturer: Trans-Atlantic Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0752213296 |
Book Description
Heroism in battle has been celebrated throughout history, yet it is one of the least understood virtues. What makes some men and women perform extraordinary deeds on the battlefield? What makes them risk their lives in the pursuit of victory?
Max Hastings, one of our foremost military historians, has seen combat up close and written about it for decades. In Warriors, he brings us the experiences of fourteen soldiers who fought in the wars of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. From an exuberant cavalry officer in Napoleon’s army to an abused orphan who in World War II became America’s youngest general since Custer, to an Israeli officer who recovered from a devastating injury to save his country, each portrait depicts a unique and remarkable story. A tribute to soldierly valor and a deeply insightful study of combat, this is an essential book for anyone who wishes to understand what it means to be at war.
Customer Reviews:
Worthwhile but erratic.......2007-04-23
I found myself alternately enthusing over this book and despairing of it. Perhaps the author's most telling observation is that in popular culture, Americans and Europeans are increasingly unable to distinguish between heroism and mere celebrity. In fact, some dictionaries actually define "hero" as someone who is well known. Hastings' heroes are all genuinely heroic, though (as he demonstrates) for varying reasons.
However....his chapter titled "The Killer" (about Edward Rickenbacker) contains so many egregious errors that there's no point cataloging them here. For unfathomable reasons, Hastings accepts a WW I psychologist's report that ace pilots were either "impulsives, paranoids, or psychopaths." Hastings further concludes, "It is fair to say few aces were sympathetic human beings."
I've known perhaps 200 aces from half a dozen countries, and my conclusions vary drastically from Hastings'. Clearly he has no acquaintance of the breed, which contains more than its share of egomaniacs, but that's a long-long way from psychopathic, unsatisfactory humans.
Hastings does well when he sticks to what he knows. Unfortunately, this book demonstrates that he knows nothing about aerial combat.
Fascinating.......2007-04-06
(A historical mystery biography)
Ever wonder how heroes are made? Max Hastings' new book Warriors offers you fifteen individual concise biographies of war heroes from the Napoleonic wars through the Yom Kippur War.
The fourteen men and one women included in this book are the personalities from which Hollywood has drawn hundreds of leading characters over the last seventy years. One man, Audie Murphy, did in fact play himself in the biographical portrayal of his experiences in the Second World War.
Hastings has compiled a list that not all historians may agree with, mostly in the fact that some notable unique personalities have been left out. Those that come to mind would be Charles "Chinese" Gordon of Khartoum fame, Confederate Cavalryman Nathan Bedford Forest and Sergeant Alvin C. York, but then with these men it would be just another historical biography.
In Warriors I was pleasantly surprised to meet characters I knew little about, and to have few resources to expand my knowledge. With few exceptions, Warriors tends to cover English and American heroes. The explanation for this is these people provided insight into their lives by leaving memoirs that provided insight into the events and personal experiences of each person.
I loved how the chapter is titled by the nickname each person acquired during their experiences. It creates a bit of mystery when you open the table of contents, and I will be honest, it enticed me to read the entire book. I was unaware that the subjects were "also know by" these names.
The stories are encapsulated versions of what could have been long drawn out and exceedingly dull biographies (which those of us that love the genre have come to expect). Each chapter provides well-detailed background on that person, where they were born, when they were enlisted and what they did to achieve the status many sought and some thought undeserved.
Hastings hits the highlights in such a way as to prompt continuous page turning. The chapters seem to be relatively the same length--perfect for a person to catch a good short read and be quite satisfied.
Armchair Interviews Says: The perfect book for the warrior, the Armchair warrior, that is.
brad.......2007-01-06
This is a great book by a great authoe. If you are interested in military history, this is a must!!!
A Study of the Warrior Psyche.......2007-01-02
This is the first Max Hastings book I have read. I enjoyed his writing style, his British figures of speech, and his humor.
With time, war heroes grow into legends. Hastings, however, views war heroes with a journalist's detachment. He analyzes their weaknesses along with their strengths.
I definitely recommend the book.
easy reading.......2006-11-10
Readers interested in military history will find this book to be light, interesting entertainment. The author portrays a series of soldiers from different ages and battlefield environments. These men constitute a cast of unusual characters whom Hastinings follows into their post war lives. Hastings makes clear in his preface that this book was a break from his more serious publications. "Warriors" is a quintessential "rainy day book".
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Ten Million Bayonets: Inside the Armies of the Soviet Union
David C. Isby
Manufacturer: Arms & Armour
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0853687749 |
Book Description
A skillful interviewer can reveal aspects of a writer's voice in simple yet telling ways. As a novelist, Arundhati Roy is known for her lush language and intricate structure. As a political essayist, her prose is searching and fierce. All of these qualities shine through in the interviews collected by David Barsamian for Globalizing Dissent: Converations with Arundhati Roy. New and devoted readers will find that these exchanges, recorded between 2001 and 2003, add to their appreciation of Roy's previous work.
Whether discussing her childhood or the problems of translation in a multilingual society, Roy and Barsamian, the producer and host of Alternative Radio, engage in a lively and accessible manner. Speaking candidly and casually, Roy describes her participation in a demonstration against the Indian dam program as, "absolutely fantastic." She jokes that her Supreme Court charge for "corrupting public morality"-in the case of her novel The God of Small Things-should have been changed to "further corrupting public morality." She calls on her training as an architect to explain what she means by the "physics of power." Like a house of cards, she argues that "unfettered power . . . cannot go berserk like this and expect to hold it all together."
Roy has been acclaimed for her courage (Salman Rushdie) and her eloquence (Kirkus Reviews), and her writing has been described as "a banquet for the senses" (Newsweek). She has found a readership among fiction enthusiasts and political activists. Globalizing Dissent captures Roy speaking one-on-one to her audience, revealing her intense and wide-ranging intellect, her very personal voice, and her opinion on momentous political events.
Arundhati Roy's novel The God of Small Things was awarded the Booker Prize in 1997. She is the recipient of the 2002 Lannan Foundation Prize for Cultural Freedom.
Customer Reviews:
The Checkbook and the Cruise Missile.......2005-09-24
I read and very much enjoyed Ms. Roy's book, The God of Small Things. A short time ago I was driving home after having participated in a candle light vigil in support of Cindy Sheehan and our troops in Iraq when I heard a broadcast of a speech she made in Australia. I was so impressed that I immediately ordered the book which contains that speech and other NPR interviews. While I've not had time yet to read the book, the teaser I got from listening to her, tells me that this will be a "5" experience!
globalizing dissent.......2004-10-16
Originally titled "The Globalization of Dissent", "The Checkbook and the Cruise Missile" is a series of four interviews with author Arundhati Roy. The interviews, guided conversations, really, are conducted by radio producer David Barsaman. Roy is perhaps best known as the author of the Booker Prize winning novel "The God of Small Things", but she has also written three collections of essays dealing with such various subjects as the corruption of the Indian government, American Imperialism, and nuclear arms proliferation. This book touches on many of these same themes, but also deals with Roy's personal life in a level her essays have not.
The first interview "Knowledge and Power" was conducted in February 2001. As the title suggests, the focus of this interview is on knowledge and power and what both mean to Arundhati Roy. Roy discusses, as she does in her essays, the abuse of power by the Indian government and the arrogance of controlling knowledge. Roy mentions how knowledge can (and has) caused arrogance and corruption in the intellectual elites. Specific instances mentioned include the government letting Enron control and own so much of India's power structure, and the irresponsible destruction caused by the Big Dam projects. This interview paints, in broad strokes, a picture of the overall worldview of Arundhati Roy. This is fantastic stuff. In Roy we discover an intelligent, accomplished, passionate woman who has taken the very human responsibility of trying to make a difference in the world.
The second interview, taken in September 2002, is a much shorter essay. Titled "Terror and the Maddened King", the essay begins with David Barsaman questioning Roy about the charges brought against her because of the novel "The God of Small Things". This interview deals more with Roy's reaction to, and experience with, government bullying. This interview feels as if it is setting up a future discussion, that there is a reason why Roy and others must speak up to the injustices caused by governments and Empires of the world.
In the longest interview, "Privitization and Polarization", Arundhati Roy makes some bold, inflammatory statements. She writes "terrorism is the privitization of war. Terrorists are the free marketers of war - people who believe that it isn't only the state that can wage war, but private parties as well." (92) She then goes on to say that "Osama Bin Laden and George Bush are both terrorists". To the American reader this is a shocking and even inconceivable. Taken from a different perspective and reading how Roy explains her viewpoint, it is not as unbelievable as it seems. From the viewpoint of one who is against globalization and the bullying of the government of the American Empire, the connections in Roy's logic are understandable. She does make a point, however, to distinguish the American people with the political power machine. This interview was conducted in November 2002.
The final interview was conducted on May 26, 2003. The title here, "Globalizing Dissent", is particularly apt. While it is never stated directly, the primary theme running through this interview is the idea that the globalization of a "world economy", which Roy feels is the globalization of the American economy, is necessarily also globalizing a dissent against that same globalization. This, Roy contends, is why the world is seeing a higher amount of and more intense form of terrorism against the forms of globalization. It is seen against America in Iraq and Roy sees it firsthand in India. In this interview Roy talks about how the terrorism of George Bush in Iraq is doing nothing more than causing more and more of this dissent.
There is very much a strong tone of anti-globalization running through "The Checkbook and the Cruise Missile". Arundhati Roy is against the broad application of power which is wielded by the world's most powerful nation. She feels strongly about looking after all of humanity, not just those with power. Ultimately, that is what Roy is trying to accomplish.
The voice of Arundhati Roy is vitally important, no matter what one's opinion of her message. At the very least it is a point of view which should be seriously considered as an alternative. She makes very good points and argues them passionately and with intelligence. She suffers no fools and has no patience with an argument made from simple nationalism. This is an important voice, but perhaps one that many in the world will find uncomfortable as she argues against many of the foundations of Western Society.
The bottom line is that this book expands and explains Roy's essays and gives a deeper personal look inside the life and mind of an important writer.
-Joe Sherry
Smart Political Conversation.......2004-10-06
Here is everything you've come to know and love of Arundhati Roy - and David Barsamian. Roy's political observations are of an exceptionally acute and pithy intelligence. Her wisdom has a way of turning a phrase completely unique to Roy, yet without losing the common touch. It lashes out in fury at injustice everywhere, yet with compassion as vital and common as sodden sand squishing through barefoot toes on a riverbank.
Despite her success, Roy is quite content to live away from celebrity, in India, which she says maintains a measure of the wildness that has long been put under the bulldozer of Western "progress":
"In India we are fighting to retain a wilderness that we have. Whereas in the West, it's gone. Every person that's walking down the street is a walking bar code. You can tell where their clothes are from, how much they cost, which designer made which shoe, which shop you bought each item from. Everything is civilized and tagged and valued and numbered and put in its place. Whereas in India, the wilderness still exists - the unindocrinated wilderness of the mind, full of untold secrets and wild imaginings. It's threatened, but we're fighting to retain it. We don't have to reconjure it. It's there. It's with us. It's not got signposts all the way. There is that space that hasn't been completely mapped and taken over and tagged and trademarked. I think that's important. And it's important that in India, we understand that it's there and we value it.
Roy expresses a remarkably matter-of-fact courage and an unbiased reason in the face of the rabid nationalism and religious fundamentalism and fanaticism that engenders, among other dark clouds, the nuclear brinkmanship between India and Pakistan.
There is something almost otherwordly about the honesty and modesty of Roy's political discourse, something in her expression so humane and plain-spoken you had despaired ever hearing it again. It is othwordly precisely because it's so obvious, so expected, and yet almost always lacking.
After the smash success of her first novel The God of Small Things, Roy says rather than any of the large publishing houses from which she could have had her pick she chose South End Press to publish her next two books of essays:
"People really imagine that most people are in search of fame or fortune or success. But I don't think that's true. I think there are lots of people who are more imaginative than that. When people describe me as famous and rich and successful, it makes me feel queasy. Each of those words falls on my soul like an insult. They seem tinny and boring and shiny and uninteresting to me. It makes me feel unsuccessful because I never set out to be those things. And they make me uneasy. To be famous, rich, and successful in this world is not an admirable thing. I'm suspicious of it all."
Quintessential Roy, and such a beautiful thought. In its own right, but especially in contrast to the seething, insatiable appetites of capitalist greed. Whatever happened to beautiful thoughts in beautiful minds?
Who else but Roy will say piercing truths we all feel, but cannot quite enunciate such as the fact that all the attention to terrorism today "completely ignores the economic terrorism unleashed by neoliberalism, which devastates the lives of millions of people, depriving them of water, food, electricity. Denying them medicine. Denying them education. Terrorism is the logical extension of this business of the free market. Terrorism is the privatization of war. Terrorists are the free marketeers of war - people who believe that it isn't only the state that can wage war, but private parties as well."
Elsewhere, Roy gives a psychology of terror in which U.S. and U.K. resorts to war in reaction to terrorist strikes actually empower terrorists, because before the terrorist were only weak, wretched and anonymous. Now they can start wars. Now they have their finger on the nuclear button.
This too, vintage Roy:
"In a country like the United States where books like Chomsky's 9-11 are starting to reach wider audiences, aren't people going to feel a bit pissed off that they had no idea about what was going on, and what was being done in their name? If the corporate media continues to be as outrageous in its suppression of facts as it is, it might just lift off like a scab. It might become something that's totally irrelevant, that people just don't believe. Because ultimately, people are interested in their own safety.
"The policies the U.S. government is following are dangerous for its citizens. It's true that you can bomb or buy out anybody that you want to, but you can't control the rage that's building in the world. You just can't. And that rage will express itself in some way or the other. Condemning violence is not going to be enough. How can you condemn violence when a section of your economy is based on selling weapons and making bombs and piling up chemical and biological weapons? When the soul of your culture worships violence? On what grounds are you going to condemn terrorism, unless you change your attitude toward violence?"
Roy's story of development, personal and global.......2004-09-17
David Barsamian asks good questions (he's had years of practice) but it's Arundhati Roy's answers that make this book so rewarding. She combines an impressive knowledge of facts with real commitment and passion.
She doesn't let the interview format get the best of her, turning her responses into lectures. Instead, she is a smart-alec sometimes and just plain smart at other times. Her dedication to making the world a better place is personal, with roots in her childhood in India. As she describes US imperialism, corporate power, and corruption in the Indian government, she ties it all to her own political development. This is an important book, easy to read but very informative and inspiring.
Personal and Impromptu Roy.......2004-05-25
This book is wonderful for those who are already familiar with Roy's work, providing an opportunity for her to reflect on prior work and speak her mind openly. Along with discussion of contemporary issues, such as 9-11, US imperial hegemony, and the Narmada Dam project in India, The Checkbook and the Cruise Missle fleshes out the context of Roy's upbringing in Kerala, India, as well as the deeper motivations behind The God of Small Things, Power Politics and War Talk. David Barsamian, veteran underground media guru, asks fresh, penetrating questions that will keep you interested throughout. A wonderful addition to Roy literature.
Book Description
Mythical beasts or real creatures? You decide!
Big Foot, Moth Man, the Sea Serpent of Gloucester. These are just a few of the mythical beasts uncovered in this intriguing collection of extraordinary creatures. Firsthand accounts and the opinions of scientists weave together a fascinating web of fact and legend. Whether you’re a skeptic or a believer, you’ll find much to ponder in the lore surrounding these monsters.
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Golden Eagles of Devil Mountain (Wildlife Conservation Society Books)
Mark J. Rauzon
Manufacturer: Franklin Watts
ProductGroup: Book
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ASIN: 0531165256 |
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I loved this book.......2003-07-16
I went and bought this book after I came across a copy of one of his old books on the street. However, I recommend you check out 5 volume series from Night Shade Books of all of Wellman's short stories. One volume has all of the Silver John Stories.
Excellent Taste of American Folklore.......1998-11-28
An authentic foray into Carolinian folklore, calling forth stories of witches, ghosts, familiars, and an assortment of other supernatural creatures, all set against the protagonist, John the Balladeer, a likable southern bard with a silver-strung guitar and a bit of occult knowledge. The book is a collection of short stories and vignettes written over a period of nearly forty years. All are good, some are excellent. The vignettes are often simply beautiful. All of the writing is first person with a genuine southern voice, without making the people or area seem ignorant or uncivilized. A wonderful collection of tales with from the much forgotten American mythology.
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The devil bird
Bob Becker
Manufacturer: Reilly & Lee
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Binding: Unknown Binding
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Devil Birds
Derek Bromhall
Manufacturer: Hutchinson
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Goony birds, bush babies, and devil rays
Seymour Simon
Manufacturer: Random House
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Birds
Devil
Manufacturer: W W Norton & Co Ltd
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ASIN: 0393013820 |
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